HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Nearly 2,500 NASA civil service workers will return to their jobs at Marshall Space Flight Center at noon Thursday, a center spokesman said Wednesday night. That will officially end the center closure in place since the federal government shutdown began Oct. 1.

"Liberal leave will be in effect for employees on Thursday and Friday," spokesman Dom Amatore said in a statement. "Employees should be especially diligent about observing safety precautions as they return to work."

Amatore said liberal leave means employees can take leave by notifying their supervisors without the normal requirement to request time off in advance. The advisory to be careful simply reflects that the center's labs and shops have been closed for 16 days, Amatore said.

NASA was one of the government agencies hardest hit by the shutdown. An estimated 95 percent of its workforce was sent home. In Huntsville, controllers remained on the job to assist astronauts aboard the International Space Station in science experiments.

Still unclear is how many of Marshall's estimated 2,500 civilian contract employees will be back on the job Thursday. But those workers support their NASA counterparts, so they will all be back soon.